Historical Notes On The Luxor Temple .. Part ( 2 )

As we see it to-day, the great temple, 853 feet in length, and 181 feet across at its greatest breadth, belongs almost entirely to the later days of the 18^th dynasty and the earlier half of the 19^th dynasty, the chief work visible being that of Amenophis ( Amenhotep ) III of the earlier, and that of Ramses II of the later, dynasty .

Luxor temple .. About the temple .. Part ( 1 )

Of the two great temples of Thebes ( east bank ), that of Luxor Temple, though by no means so imposing as its vast neighbour at Karnak, should perhaps be the first to be visited .

Some Of Other Small Buildings .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 24 )

We now leave the enclosure of Montu by the south-eastern gate, built by Nectanebis II, and re-enter the great enclosure of Amen-Rê and proceed eastwards, passing a sgrine of the Ethiopian Pharaoh Shabaka, consisting of a twelve-columned hall, with tables for offering ranged round its brick walls .

The Temple Of Montu .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 23 )

We now pass through a gateway in the north temenos wall of the great temple, and reach the brick wall surrounding the precinct of the temple of Montu, the most ancient god of Thebes .

Temple Of Ptah And Hathor .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 22 )

We return, therefore, through the southern buildings of the great temple to the Hypostyle Hall, from the middle of the north wall of which a paved path leads to the temple of Ptah .

The Temple Of Mût In Asher .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 21 )

This temple, dedicated to the goddess Mût, consort of Amen-Rê, is very picturesquely situated at the end of the eastern avenue of sphinxes, leading from pylon X of the southern buildings of Karnak .

The Southern Buildings Of The Great Temple Of Amûn .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 20 )

The rectangular slots in the southern face of this pylon, which once held the great flagstaves, should be noticed . They bear the obvious traces of the action of fire, as the stones have been split in every direction .

The Southern Buildings Of The Great Temple Of Amûn .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 19 )

Pylon VIII, which closes in the south side of this court is the work of Hatshepsut, though the work upon it has suffered many usurpations . Hatshepsut's name was erased from the reliefs by Tuthmosis II .

The Southern Buildings Of The Great Temple Of Amûn .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 18 )

Pylon VII, which is now in front of us, is the work of Tuthmosis III, and bears a record of his victories in the usual form of cartouches of conquered tribes and cities, with a relief of the king slaying his enemies in the standard fashion .

The Southern Buildings Of The Great Temple Of Amûn .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 17 )

We have now finished our survey of the main building of the great temple ; but, besides the scattered remains of small temples and shrines which lie within the great temenos of Amûn, there is a very considerable southern extension which contains a number of reliefs and inscriptions of great interest .

Temple Of Ramses III .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 16 )

We are return to the small temple of Ramses III, which interrupts the row of Bubastite columns on the south side of the court . Being of 20^th dynasty date, this temple was obviously here before the court came into being, and it is plain that Ramses III considered the great temple to be completed by the pylon ( No. II ) of Ramses I which, in his day, formed the west front of the temple ; otherwise he would never have placed his temple where it was bound to be absorbed in any subsequent extensions .

The Great Temple Of Amen-Rê .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 15 )

We now emerge from this somewhat complicated part of the temple into an open court where the 12^th dynasty temple originally stood . The scanty fragments which remain are mostly flush with the ground . Beyond the ruined walls on the left hand ( north ) of this court, and between them and the series of walls which enclose the temple to the north are two wells, one of them approached by a stair .

The Great Temple Of Amen-Rê .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 14 )

In front of us, as we pass the VI and the last pylon of the main temple, a small and ruined structure of Tuthmosis III, with a granite gateway . On either side of the gateway is the well-known list of the conquests of Tuthmosis, which takes the usual form of a series of ovals with emergent figures, each oval bearing the name of a conquered city or locality . The list on the left-hand side is of particular interest, as it records, the tribes of the Upper Retenu ( Syria ) which His Majesty took in the wretched town of Megiddo .

The Great Temple Of Amen-Rê .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 13 )

We pass through pylon No. IV, which formed the west front of the temple in the days of Tuthmosis I, but is now sadly ruined . The doorway was restored by Alexander The Great, the first of the later intrusions which we have to notice in this earlier part of the temple .

The Great Temple Of Amen-Rê .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 12 )

We now cross the Hypostyle Hall again, and go out by the south door, in the middle of the south wall, to view the reliefs of Ramses II . These relate to his campaign against the Hittites . The wall of the first of the southern courts of the temple projects from the middle of the east section of the south wall of the Hypostyle Hall, and on the western face of this projecting wall, in the angle formed by it with the wall of the hypostyle, is inscribed the treaty of peace, which was made between Ramses and Hattushilish, King of the Hittites, in the twenty-first year of the Egyptian king .

The Great Temple Of Amen-Rê .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 11 )

Before we pass on to the eastern portion of the temple, which is mainly also the earlier portion, it is advisable to pass to the out-side of the hall, in order to see the historical reliefs which are carved on its south and north walls, and on the south wall of the pylon of Ramses I . We shall take these reliefs in their historical order, beginning with those of Seti I, which are on the north wall .

The Great Temple Of Amen-Rê .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 10 )

Before the colonnade of Taharqa are two large pedestals for statues, and at the farther end of the colonnade ( east ) are the remains of statues of Seti I .

The Great Temple Of Amen-Rê .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 9 )

We now enter the Great Forecourt, sometimes known as the Court of the Bubastites, from the fact that is was mainly erected by the Pharaohs of the Libyan or 22^nd dynasty, whose capital was at Bubastis .

The Great Temple Of Amen-Rê .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 8 )

Before us is the stupendous Ethiopian pylon which now constitutes the west front of the temple . It is 370 feet wide, 142½ feet high, and 49 feet thick . Before we pass it, let us to realize on how colossal a scale the house of Amûn before us was built and endowed .

The Great Temple Of Amen-Rê .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 7 )

Leaving the temple of Khonsu, we proceed northwards for a short distance . Our road, after running along the side of the temple, turns somewhat towards the west at the north end of the building, then after a little bends round to the north again,

The Temple Of Khonsu .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 6 )

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The Temple Of Khonsu .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 5 )

From Luxor the Shari' el-Karnak leads straight to Karnak, which it reaches by the western avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, erected by Amenophis III . Approaching the site thus from the south-west, we are on the flank of the great temple instead of its front, and our first acquaintance with the group of temples which together make up Karnak is made as we reach the temple of Khonsu . This small temple was dedicated to the son of the Theban triad, the moon-god .

Historical Notes .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 4 )

Her successor, Tuthmosis III, made considerable additions to the growing building . He sheathed the obelisks of Hatshepsut in masonry up to the roof of the cedar hall, so that the inscriptions of the great queen should not be visible; but his other works were more worthy of his name .

Historical Notes .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 3 )

It is, however, with the rise of the 18^th dynasty that the glory of Karnak becomes the increasing study of each successive Pharaoh .

Historical Notes .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 2 )

• Karnak and Thebes rose and fell together, it was with the rise of The Middle Kingdom that Amûn and his temple really begin to come into the prominence which they never afterwards lost, save for the brief interlude of Atenism, until the fall of the Empire .

Karnak and its temples .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 1 )

• About a mile and a half from of Luxor lies the vast aggregate of sacred buildings which we know as Karnak .

Southern Upper Egypt

Southern Upper Egypt – the region between Thebes and Aswan – was the most southerly area of Egypt proper , before Nubia and the regions of the south .